Don't Have a Chance
by Parasite Lin
Summary: A romance fanfic of how Selphie and Irvine got together after the game. Chapter 5 is now up!
1. "The Love Depression"

~The Love Within~  
By Lin Raimondo  
  
Be warned: This is NOT a lemon in any way, shape, or form! By the way,  
this is NOT a Zell/Selphie romance, even if it seems that way near the  
beginning. It's a Selphie/Irvine, mmm'kay? Mmm'kay.  
  
CHAPTER ONE  
  
"Selphie?" Two familiar voices said in unison.  
  
"Selphie?!" The voices got louder.  
  
Selphie sniffled, and quietly responded, "Guys...?"  
  
One of the voices said, "It's me, Zell, and-"  
  
The other voice cut in. "Irvine. What's wrong? You haven't   
been out of your room all day!"  
  
Selphie started to cry, sitting on her bed. In between her  
tears, she responded, yelling, "Irvine!" Her voice lowered. "P, please  
go away... for now. I need to... sort things out."  
  
Zell spoke softly, "Selphie, you need to tell us what's wrong!  
We WON'T go away until you do."  
  
Selphie snarled, "Go away, ZELL! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Selphie  
whispered, "Irvine...."  
  
Zell walked away in disgust, but Irvine persisted. "Selphie...  
I couldn' hear what you were saying just now; your voice is so low. Do  
you want me to go away...?" His voice trailed off.  
  
"No, Irvine-" Selphie was interrupted by the loud, platform-  
heeled shoes of Irvine's lady fan club running down the hall towards  
him.  
  
"Oh, Irvine! We've been looking all over for you! I want to  
show you my keychain collection!" A blonde, pony-tailed fan yelled  
with excitement.  
  
Another young woman chimed in, "You just HAVE to see my new  
anklet first! PLEASE?!"  
  
Selphie went hysterical and screamed through the door. "IRVINE!   
LEAVE ME ALONE! Go have fun with YOUR girlfriends and leave ME be!"  
  
"Selphie...." Irvine was extremely hurt.  
  
"Irvine!" One of the girls yelled. "She's nuts! Come with me;  
she's not for you!" The young brunette dragged him by his arm down the  
hall. Irvine struggled to get out of her grasp, but the other girls  
were helping the brunette and making sure that he couldn't escape.  
  
"Dammit!" Irvine muttered.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
Zell was walking around aimlessly near the water fountain in  
Balamb Garden's main area, one of his hands punching the other  
furiously.  
  
'What's wrong with Selphie? Something must've happened,' he  
thought.  
  
"Hey, Zell!" someone said from behind him. He could hear some  
footsteps coming towards him.  
  
"Oh, hi Quistis, Seifer," Zell said lifelessly.  
  
"What's gotten you down, buddy?" Seifer acknowledged Zell's  
unhappiness.  
  
Zell was about to respond like a smart aleck, but he suddenly  
remembered that Seifer has become a compassionate, caring person about  
other people's problems ever since he started dating Quistis a month  
ago. Perhaps it was to make her happy.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Zell responded meekly.  
  
Quistis spoke up, "Oh, come, Zell. Something's up." She flash-  
ed a small smile and nodded. "Tell us about it."  
  
"Aw, geez, Quistis." Zell looked down. "Selphie's been really  
sad lately. Today she wouldn't even come out of her room. I don't  
know what's wrong."  
  
"Has Irvine been treating her badly?" Quistis asked with  
suspicion.  
  
"No, no. Not at all. He's been acting really nice to her ever  
since her mood changed. He wants her to feel better."  
  
Seifer started in with a funny tone, "Eh? Looks like you've  
got some competition. Not that's it new, or anything."  
  
"Seifer!" Zell grew angry. "I do not want her that way!"  
  
"Zell...." Quistis whispered to herself.  
  
"Fine, Quistis," Zell said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I DO have feelings for Selphie."  
  
Seifer looked surprised. "Dude, I was just joking."  
  
"It didn't sound like you were...." Zell spoke and put his head  
down in shame.  
  
Quistis looked concerned. "It's nothing to be ashamed of,   
Zell. You should be proud of speaking up and stating your feelings."  
  
Zell looked up. "So, you've got any ideas?"  
  
Quistis responded, "Just be yourself and try to make her feel  
better. Listen to her. Sort things out. Be-"  
  
Seifer interrupted, "Not trying to be rude, sweetie, but I  
think he's got the point."  
  
Zell smiled. "Well, guys. Thanks for your help! I'll be  
checking on Selphie now."  
  
As Zell walked away, Quistis shouted, "Good luck!"  
  
Seifer said, "See ya, loverboy!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Knock, knock.  
  
"Who is it, dammit?!" Selphie yelled.  
"Zell."  
  
"Oh, okay," Selphie's demeanor changed suddenly. "Come in."  
  
Selphie got up from her bed and opened the door. Zell's mouth  
went wide open at the sight of her.  
  
She was wearing sexy, lacy, satin, green lingerie with faint  
sparkles.  
  
Zell blushed. "Did I come in at the wrong time?"  
  
Selphie responded with a smile, "Oh, no, Zell. I just wear  
this whenever I'm chilling in my room alone. So, what's up?"  
  
END CHAPTER ONE  
  
More to come; check back soon! 


	2. "The Beauty of Her Soul"

CHAPTER TWO  
  
Selphie sat down on her bed and motioned him to follow. As he sat,   
Zell looked down. "Why are you so sad lately? I'm concerned...."  
  
Selphie started to cry and suddenly hugged Zell. He squeezed right  
back. Selphie started, "It's a long story. You up for it?"  
  
"Of course, baby."  
  
"Wha?" Selphie caught his comment. She sighed, "Well, you know how  
I'm usually so hyper and perky?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Well, I guess you could say that mood was... artificial?"  
  
"WHAT?! What are you saying, Selphie? Please tell me!"  
  
"Oh, Zell." She squeezed her arms around him some more. "I've been  
taking antidepression pills for over seven years."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because... that's around the time that Irvine left for Galbadia."  
  
Zell was shocked and grew angry. "WHAT?! IRVINE! Why?!"  
  
Selphie cried some more, and after she got a hold of herself, she  
continued. "I love Irvine...."  
  
Zell jumped off of the bed started to scream. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF  
PHOENIX!? DAMMIT, SELPHIE!"  
  
Selphie got scared and went to comfort him. She put her hand on his  
shoulder as she said, "I love all of you guys very much. Irvine,  
though, I love in a different way than the rest of you. The reason  
why I stopped taking the pills is because I promised myself, after the  
Battle of Time was finished, I would stop taking these stupid pills,  
get Irvine to notice me, court him, marry him, and have his kids."  
  
Zell was speechless. He eventually started crying, and said, "Dammit,  
Selphie. All this time it seems like you've been leading me on."  
  
Selphie was surprised at his statement, and only said, "Huh?"  
  
"I gotta admit, Selphie, I've been taken by you. But now I've finally   
realized that I've got no chance with you. So that leaves  
absolutely no one who cares about me anymore."  
  
Selphie retorted, "Hell no, Zell! Everyone cares about you! You saved  
the damn world, for Siren's sake! We couldn't have killed Ultimecia  
without your help! There are tons of girls EVERYWHERE who would faint  
just to feel your presence in a room! Don't go the way I did, and  
lose your sense of feeling because of love. Love isn't meant to be  
that way! I love Irvine because of who he is, and how he cared, cares,  
and will care about my feelings. I know that all of you care about me,  
but Irvine is the love of my life. Ever since I walked into that  
orphanage for the first time and saw him staring at me, I knew that I  
would love him forever. I nearly died when I saw that we were going to  
different gardens at age ten, and I nearly died when I saw him a few  
months ago sitting on the grass at Galbadia. I never said anything and  
never told anyone that I knew who he was because I was too shocked. I  
love him, dammit! That's all there is to it, Zell. Someone is waiting  
out there for you. Love will come to you, so don't go searching for  
it!" Selphie caught her breath.  
  
Zell was feeling a little happier after hearing her speech. "I'm so  
glad that you care about me. You just saying those things made me feel  
so much better. I know it will take me a while to mend the bridges  
that I walked by loving you, but it will come sooner rather than later.  
Thank you so much." He went up and hugged her.  
  
Selphie replied, "No, Zell. Thank you."  
  
MORE TO COME!!! This isn't the end, heck no! Check back soon! :) 


	3. "Love You"

CHAPTER THREE  
  
Zell let go of her. "Irvine's worried to death about you, baby. I'll  
go get him so you can work things out. Okay?" He and nodded walked   
towards the door in a backwards walking motion.  
  
Selphie replied, "Okay..."  
  
Zell turned around to open the door, yet suddenly, something clicked  
and he said, "I think you should change your outfit. Irvine'd go nuts  
if he saw you in that."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"I mean what I say, baby. He'd go nuts if he saw you half-naked."  
  
Selphie looked down at her lingerie, "IRVINE IS NOT A PERVERT!" Her   
voice tone changed in order for Zell to see her 'maturity' when she   
added, "But I'll change anyway." She looked up and saw that Zell had   
already slipped out.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Zell walked into the cafeteria and saw Irvine surrounded by a bunch of  
babyish female underclassmen. 'There's the old ladies' man,' Zell  
thought. 'Or should I say, the young teenyboppers' man.'  
  
"S'up Irvine?" Zell yelled.  
  
Irvine turned around and walked towards Zell, with a bunch of girls  
following him. "What's up? How's Selphie?"  
  
A girl behind him said, "Forget her, Irvine! She's nuts. The best you  
can do for her is get her into a mental hospital!"  
  
Irvine did a 180 turn and slapped the girl in the face. "Shut the hell  
up! Selphie saved the world. You can't even save your mouth from  
being pimp-slapped!"  
  
At this, all of the girls ran away, some of them in shock. Irvine said  
to Zell, "Those crazy bitches. All they think about is getting into my  
pants."  
  
Zell thought, 'You make those girls think that you want to get into  
THEIR pants.'  
  
"So, how's Selphie?"  
  
Zell looked down. "She's... not that well, Irvine. I think you should   
go talk to her."  
  
Irvine was filled with concern, but tried not to show it. "All right.   
I'll catch you later then, Zell?"  
  
"Yeah, bye."  
  
Irvine walked out of the cafeteria quietly, towards Selphie's room.   
Once he got to her room, he knocked on the door a few times. "Selphie?  
It's Irvine."  
  
"Yes. Coming." Selphie opened her door.  
  
Irvine was surprised. Selphie was wearing a long, flowing red dress   
with a glowing face that made her look like the godly child of Ifrit.   
He had never seen such a sight in his life. Selphie went down and sat  
on her bed, while Irvine slowly followed and sat down beside her.  
  
"Selphie."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"Where to start, what to say?" Selphie looked down.  
  
Irvine placed his finger on her chin in order to make her look up.  
"Tell me why you're so depressed lately."  
  
Selphie's eyes watered, so she rubbed her eyes with her left hand.  
"When I moved to Trabia Garden from the orphanage, I became extremely  
sad. I wouldn't talk to anyone, even if my intructors called on me in  
class. After a couple weeks, Headmaster Selden called me into his  
office and had the physican examine me; there was nothing wrong. So  
he sent me to the garden's psychiatrist. I could barely talk, but I  
finally said that I had missed my friends at the orphanage, particulary  
you. The doctor knew that there was no way for me to see you guys  
again in a planned fashion, so he prescribed to me this powerful anti-  
depressant that not only makes the depression go away, but also makes  
the user very, how do I say it? Happy, I guess. Uncontrollably...  
happy. They all said that it was for the best and the only way to keep  
me from committing suicide, and for ten years, I thought so too. Until  
I found you." Before she went on, she cuddled Irvine as she wept. "I  
couldn't believe it was you." She smiled, "You looked almost TOO hand-  
some!" She frowned, "I would have been so embarrassed if it wasn't  
you, but when you told us about the orphanage in Trabia, I was certain  
that I had you back in my life." "I wanted, no, I needed to, get you   
back in my life. I wanted to get off of the pills, too, and be myself   
again. But I thought that my fighting ability might be affected if I   
got off of the pills so suddenly. So I decided to wait until it was   
over before I put my health on the line. I stopped taking the pills a  
few days ago. Since then, I've been extremely sad whenever you weren't  
near my side or when you were talking to other girls." She looked into  
his eyes. "I want to be your...." She trailed off.  
  
"Selphie, I don't know what to say. I do care about you, very much so.  
But I don't know if I can... be by your side, all the time."  
  
Selphie looked down at herself. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Like with SeeD missions. I have one planned for tomorrow. I have to  
escort a female SeeD candidate from Eshtar's new garden to here because  
they haven't gotten the stuff for testing in yet. Her name is Jessica  
Ryder, and I'm especially pissed, because the Ragnarok is under   
repairs."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I've heard from some guys that know her that she's a real   
bitch. I don't wanna be near her for too long, you know."  
  
"Yeah. I understand."  
  
Irvine looked her square in the eye. "So Selphie, I want tonight to be  
a night for us, alone. Together."  
  
"Yes, Irvine..."  
  
End Chapter 3! YES!!! I finally got the darn thing up! Look for more  
chapters soon; you sure as heck don't want to miss the revelations in  
them! Thanks for reading. 


	4. "Let Me Be The One"

CHAPTER FOUR (aka "When the Story Gets Good")  
  
Author's Note: "Why the heck has the title been changed," you ask?  
Well, it's a tribute to the best middle school band around: Roadtrip to Reality. I  
know you never heard of them, but soon you will. They're the 3rd place  
winners at my school's Talent Show. (I was in it; I sang "Eyes on Me,"  
by the way.) RTR brought the house down with a song that was written  
by themselves, called "Don't Have a Chance." It is FREAKIN' AWESOME,  
and when they make it big, I'm sure that everyone will remember it as  
their very first single. It fits the story damn well, and if you need  
to know why I renamed the fanfic to "Don't Have a Chance," keep reading,  
as it will be revealed in a future chapter. Also, I had obscenely horrific  
writer's block; so much that I replayed the game all the way through to  
get more material. Now, I'm back, and I'm happy to say, I'm ready to write.   
Now, let's get it on!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Selphie heard a knock at the door, which woke her up. Before she even  
responded to the noise, she open her eyes and noticed that Irvine was  
gone.  
  
"Selphie, are you in there?" A familiar friend's voice said.  
  
"Rinoa?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay, I'll open up the door."  
  
Selphie got up and rubbed her eyes. She was extremely groggy from last  
night. She went over and opened the door for Rinoa, who was in her usual attire.  
  
"Not meaning to be rude, but do you realize what time it is, Selphie?"  
  
Selphie glanced at her clock. "Sweet Hyne, it's ten o'clock!"  
  
Rinoa smiled and placed her hands on her hips. "What did you do last night  
that made you so tired?"  
  
Selphie looked at her strangely. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"There's rumors going around about you and Irvine."  
  
"Like?"  
  
"That you slept together."  
  
"Um, no. We didn't even kiss. We just talked."  
  
"Really? About what?"  
  
"Well," Selphie sat down on her bed, and Rinoa followed. "We just talked  
about our relationship. He has to go on a mission today to escort some  
girl, and he's going to be gone for a while. I told him that after the  
mission, we should go on a date," Selphie aimlessly talked, trying to  
remember what happened. Obviously, she was still sleepy.   
  
"Go Selphie!!" Rinoa shouted sarcastically.  
  
Selphie smiled, "Thanks. I wonder why he left in the middle of the night?"  
  
"He probably either needed to go to a final briefing on the mission, or  
to pack or something."  
  
"Yeah. I think I should go wish him off. He's leaving at eleven."  
  
Rinoa stood up and turned to Selphie, "Well, do you want me to help you  
get dolled up for him? I'll make sure that you'll look so gorgeous that  
he won't even look at the escortee!"  
  
"If you can do it in about a half an hour, sure."  
  
"Okay, let's go!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Selphie and Rinoa walked on the paved road to Balamb Town to catch Irvine's  
train. Rinoa didn't dress up, so as not to detract from the send-off; but  
Selphie, on the other hand, looked beautiful. She wore a blue sheer dress  
that came down to her ankles. The sparkles on it nearly blinded Rinoa in  
the late morning sun.  
  
"Rinoa, don't you think this is a little TOO dressy for the occasion?"  
  
"No, not really. If you dress up like you care about him, then he'll know  
you truly do care about him."  
  
"All right."  
  
"Plus, the blue on the dress tell him that you're sad that he's leaving  
you, if only for a short while. And the sparkles---"  
  
"Okay, Rinoa, I get it."  
  
Rinoa smiled, "Heh, I know. I'm just a little excited today, that's all."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I'm soon going to be Mrs. Rinoa Julia Leonheart!"  
  
Selphie grinned. "Squall proposed to you?! That's wonderful, Rinoa!"  
She hugged her best friend.  
  
"Thank you. Well, I'll tell you more later, since it's five of."  
  
"Yeah, let's make a run for it!" Selphie held onto her dress and ran  
towards the train building, while Rinoa slowly followed. Selphie noticed  
Irvine about fifteen feet away. "Irvine!!!"  
  
He turned around and looked at Selphie. "Selph!" He ran towards her, and   
when they met, they gave each other a loving hug.  
  
"Thanks for coming." Irvine told Selphie.  
  
"You're welcome. I was afraid we wouldn't make it."  
  
"We?"  
  
Selphie turned around and yelled to her straggler friend, "C'mon, Rinoa!"  
  
Rinoa started to run. "Sorry about that! I needed to take a break."  
  
Selphie inquired about her unusual laziness, "What the hell for?"  
  
Irvine chuckled, "My virgin ears!"  
  
Rinoa frowned, "I just have a little cold, that's all it is. That's all  
it is, right?"  
  
Selphie put her hand on Rinoa's shoulder, "I'm sure you are. But Rinoa,  
if you think it's something serious, go see Dr. Kadowaki."  
  
"I'm positive that I'm fine."  
  
"Okay, just making sure."  
  
The train conductor yelled from behind Irvine, "C'mon, kid! We don't have  
all day here!"  
  
"Sorry! Selphie, I gotta go. Goodbye, honey." Selphie gave him a peck  
on the cheek before he ran to the nearly-moving train.  
  
Selphie smiled at Rinoa, "Ah, well. I guess I'll be hanging around you  
more than usual in my free time."  
  
"Selphie, is that even possible?" Rinoa smirked.  
  
"Well, yeah. I used to spend every waking moment thinking of Irvine."  
  
"I don't want you to even start about Irvine...."   
  
The girls both giggled.  
  
"Let's get back," Selphie suggested.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Knock, knock."  
  
"Who is it NOW?" Rinoa said to both the person knocking and Selphie,  
who had changed into her staple yellow jumper.  
  
"Rinoa, what are you doing in there? It's Zell."  
  
Selphie laughed and opened her dorm's door. "Hey, Zell. We were just talking   
about Rinoa's wedding. She says I get to be the maid of honor!"  
  
"Sweet, Selphie," Zell remarked, not seeming to give a damn about Rinoa.  
"Can I talk to you in private?"  
  
"Of course. Rinoa, leave."  
  
"Okay, Selphie. But I'm staying right outside the door!"  
  
"Why?" Zell asked.  
  
"Because I want to make sure Selphie isn't cheating on Irvine."  
  
Zell gave Rinoa a funny look. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Oh, you probably haven't heard yet. Selphie's going out with Irvine."  
  
Zell looked down. "All right. Thanks for informing me, Rin," he said in  
a sad tone.  
  
Rinoa left the room and closed the door. Selphie and Zell both sat on  
her bed.  
  
"So, what's up, Zell?"  
  
"Well, I just felt like seeing you."  
  
'Damn you, you idiot!' Zell thought. 'You just blew your cover!'  
  
"Oh?" Selphie replied.  
  
"Well, um, er, I wanted to see your new guitar. I was thinking of buying  
one myself." Zell fumbled on his ad-libbed words. "Can I try it out to  
see if I like yours? I may want one like it if it's any good."  
  
"Um, okay." Selphie got out her guitar from the case on the side of her  
bureau. She handed it to Zell.  
  
"Well, here goes nothing." He started playing a guitar and singing a song:  
  
"So you're scared to show your feelings. Baby, I do understand. Well, I  
don't make a promise that I can't keep. And I vow to be a real good friend.   
  
"In those big green eyes I see a glow of love. I just hope I'm the one  
you're dreaming of.  
  
"Let me be the one to love you. Let me be the one to care. Let me be the  
one to light your flame. Oh baby, come on; let me be the one.   
  
"We spend all our time together. We can't stand to sleep alone. When you  
say you have to leave for now, I miss you before you're gone.  
  
"All along we thought this was absurd. Every moment we spend goes by too  
fast. Darling, darling, take this chance with me. 'Cause I have eyes   
only for you.   
  
"Let me be the one to love you. Let me be the one to care. Let me be   
the one to light your flame. Oh baby, come on; let me be the one. Let  
me be the one to love you. Let me be the one to care. Let me be the   
one to light your flame. Oh baby, come on; let me be the one.... for you."  
  
As Zell strummed through the fully instrumental bit of the song, Selphie  
exclaimed, "Zell, you're amazing at this! Do you realize how good you are?"  
  
Zell smiled and continued, "Don't be scared to show your feelings. 'Cause  
baby, I do understand. And I don't make promises that I can't keep. And  
I vow to be a real good man."  
  
Zell stopped. "Really? It was really good? I like this song a lot; it's  
by Blessed Union of Souls."  
  
"I know, Zell. I love this song; it's beautiful."  
  
'Does she understand?' Zell thought.  
  
"Yeah, Selphie, it really is beautiful," Zell said aloud.  
  
"Do you think you're going to buy a guitar just like this one?" Selphie  
asked.  
  
'What the hell?! That was all made up....'  
  
"Maybe. It's pretty good and easy to use. But Selphie, did you really  
listen to the song?"  
  
"Of course, Zell; your voice is wonderful."  
  
"But Selphie, did you get the meaning of the song?"  
  
"Yes, it's about a guy who loves this girl, but the girl doesn't really  
know his feelings for her."  
  
"Selphie, don't you get it?"  
  
"Yeah, I just told you, silly!"  
  
"Nevermind. Tell Rinoa that she can come back in now."  
  
  
  
LALALALA!! End Chapter Four! I just heard that old song on the radio today,  
and it inspired this chapter. Go email Blessed Union of Souls and thank  
them right now! Seriously though, the song is awesome and has always been  
one of my favorites. I thought "Let Me Be The One" was absolutely perfect  
for this situation, especially the line: "In those big green eyes I see  
a glow of love." Come on, people: you gotta love it! Stay tuned for the  
next chapter, which is number one on my "to write" list! 


	5. Title Pending

CHAPTER FIVE  
  
Author's Note: Damn me. I haven't written in a while. Sorry about that.  
Anyway, it's back, with a Shaq-attack! .....Whatever. Here's chapter  
five, which breaks away from the overly Selphie/Irvine/Zell love triangle   
theme of the fanfic. Don't worry, guys, it'll be back (in full force)  
next chapter! Also, the tone of this chapter can be comical at times.  
Sorry.  
  
CORRECTION: It's not "Blessed" Union of Souls, it's "BLESSID," dammit!  
I freely give the members of the band a permit to "punish" me for misspelling  
their name. ::drools and hopes one of the band members puts on an Irvine  
mask during the "punishment"::  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Rinoa walked in after hearing that Zell was finished. She smiled, "Mmm,  
Zell, I wish Squall had such a nice singing voice!"  
  
Zell faked a smile, "Thanks."  
  
Rinoa looked down at him, "What's wrong, Zell? Something's up." Suddenly,  
Rinoa started to cough uncontrollably and turned away from Zell, expecting   
herself to vomit up her breakfast. She did.  
  
Selphie ran to Rinoa in horror and turned to Zell, "Go get someone from  
the infirmary to bring her down there, now! Tell someone else to go get  
Squall!" Zell stared at her and Selphie got angry. "NOW!!!!!" Zell ran  
away from both sickness at looking at Rinoa's green throw-up and Selphie's  
scream.  
  
Meanwhile, Selphie stayed at Rinoa's side. She tried to encourage her,  
"It's okay, Rinoa. Everything's fine. Don't worry about the mess.  
Help's coming in a few minutes." Rinoa continued to lose her breakfast  
at an alarming rate.  
  
Squall came rushing to the dorm room, "Rinoa!" Selphie and she looked up.  
"Rinoa, what's wrong? What happened? What's going on?!"  
  
At that moment, Rinoa stopped vomiting and immediately fell faint into  
Squall's arms. Squall questioned Selphie, "What happened here?!"  
  
Selphie told him, "She was a little under the weather this morning. She  
could barely walk. She said everything was fine, but---"  
  
Dr. Kadowaki came into the room with a stretcher that was carried by her  
and Zell. She interrupted Selphie's words, "Selphie, Squall, get her on  
here!" They complied, and they briskly walked to the infirmary, with  
Squall holding Rinoa's hand.  
  
Selphie and Zell sat on the chairs near the bed, while Squall settled Rinoa  
onto it and looked at Kadowaki. "What do you think happened to her?"  
  
She appeared grim. "I don't know. We'll have to wait until she wakes  
up to get a proper diagnosis." She looked at Rinoa, then Squall, and then  
her clipboard, which had the statistics of Rinoa Heartilly. "First, I'd  
like to ask you all some questions about the patient."  
  
Selphie and Zell nodded, and Squall looked concerned as he said, "Yes, of  
course, doctor."  
  
Kadowaki first questioned Selphie, "I understand you were with Rinoa this  
morning?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How was she feeling?"  
  
Selphie looked at her hands. "She was fine, except she had some trouble  
walking."  
  
"Can you elaborate?"  
  
"Of course. While I was running along the road, she was just taking tiny  
steps, like a baby."  
  
"Has she had any other days like this recently?"  
  
"No, no."  
  
"All right. Zell told me all he knew when he got here, so Squall, please  
be honest with me when you answer these questions. They're very important and  
could lead us to a reliable conclusion right away. Have you had sexual  
intercourse with Rinoa recently?"  
  
Squall blushed and looked down as to hide his surprise at the question.  
"Y-y-y-es...."  
  
"Did you use protection?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"The only 100%-effective method of staving off pregnancy is abstinence, you know?"  
  
Squall put his hand on his head, in his trademark pose. 'She's pregnant...?  
This can't be happening. Kadowaki's talking like Raijin, for crying out  
loud! This can't be real. But, she might just have a cold. I hope so.'  
  
"Squall?"  
  
"Y-yes, doctor?" Squall suddenly remembered that she had asked him a question.  
"Oh, yes, I know."  
  
"All right. Let me try and wake her up now, so she can undergo some tests."  
For some reason, Kadowaki slapped Rinoa and she immediately woke up.  
  
Squall and the others looked at them both in astonishment. Zell even  
commented, "Umm...."  
  
"Miss Heartilly?"  
  
"Y-yes?" Rinoa said with a yawn.  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
"I feel a little dizzy, but I'm fine otherwise."  
  
"Do you feel up to taking a test?"  
  
Rinoa cringed, "Not a blood test!"  
  
Kadowaki smiled, "No, no, Rinoa." Kadowaki pulled out a pregnancy test  
from one of her cabinets and handed it to Rinoa.  
  
Rinoa gasped, "Uhhh...."  
  
"Just go into the bathroom and follow the instructions on the package.  
It's fine, it will be all right. We can discuss the specifics later."  
  
Rinoa got up, "O-o-okay...." She slowly walked into the bathroom on the  
opposite side of the room.  
  
Kadowaki looked at Squall and noticed his sad face, "Are you all right, son?"  
  
He looked up at her, "Yeah, I guess."  
  
Selphie told him, "Don't worry, we're with you forever, no matter what!"  
  
Zell smiled, "We? I didn't agree to this!" A moment of silence shrouded  
the office. "Just kidding!" Everyone laughed.  
  
Rinoa walked out of the bathroom and held up the test. "I'm pregnant."  
  
  
  
Who didn't see that one coming, eh? ::wink, wink:: Oh, well. Next  
chapter may be a while, but it's coming. SUE ME, DAMMIT! SUE MEEEE!!!!  
Sorry about that.... \\/(^_^)\// See you next chapter! Bye! 


End file.
